We all have those frustrating bad habits we desperately want to kick.

Whether it’s indulging in some late-night online shopping or biting your nails, our bad habits can make us feel downright rubbish. But despite being able to identify the flaws in our ways, knowing how bad they are for us and disliking the consequences of our actions, we continue. Why?

The answer, it seems, lies in our brain chemistry. Think about what happens in your mind when you engage in a bad habit. If you can’t recall your thoughts, it’s probably because not much happens when we turn to these habits throughout the day: we’re not actively thinking “let me engage in this bad habit”.

That’s because our bad habits are the product of our brain’s subconscious; psychological shortcuts that allow us to save energy and solve problems based on what we already know. Heuristics, as they are termed by psychologists, are mental shortcuts which allow our brains to make fact-based assumptions.

How to break bad habits: asking yourself this one question could help you change your ways